McDonald's' Blogger Practices Draw Press Scrutiny

McDonald's' blogger perks are drawing increasing attention, at least from the press.

Recently, PR consultant Josh Ainsfeld publicly described a U.K.-targeted McDonald's' strategy of
assembling some 400 bloggers (also said to be McD fans) willing to write favorably about the QSR, reportedly in exchange for gifts and all-expenses-paid parties.

The Huffington Post is among the press outlets now asking: "Is McDonald's trying
to bribe bloggers?"

Earlier in May, the New
York Times reported on a 2010 junket in which McDonald's flew 15 blogers to Chicago, put them in in an upscale hotel, and gave them a tour of its headquarters.

Blogger/marketer
relationships have always had large and often controversial gray areas, of course -- and McDonald's is hardly alone.

"While bloggers are often viewed as members of the media, they don't have
to follow the same rules that many journalists do, so they can accept as many gifts and trips as they want," points out PR Week. "It seems like McDonald's is just joining the bandwagon on blogger events and
campaigns."

Do consumers, as opposed to the press, know or care about whether bloggers' opinions are being influenced by various freebies and perks from various marketers? No answers provided
in these press accounts.

But PR Week ventures that "if [McDonald's] remains transparent about the [blogger] initiatives and what they entail, criticism will most likely taper
[sic] out."

Karlene Lukovitz is a regular contributor to MediaPost's "Marketing Daily," "Audience Development," "InPublishing" (U.K.), and other business publications, and edits "IPDA Newsstand Forum," a monthly newsletter on the magazine newsstand industry. You can reach Karlene at klukovitz@klmedialink.com.